


The Only Constant is Change

by wonderlandstreasurechest



Category: Power Rangers Ninja Storm
Genre: Gen, Tourism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-24
Updated: 2015-05-24
Packaged: 2018-03-31 23:43:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3997648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderlandstreasurechest/pseuds/wonderlandstreasurechest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A formerly missing ninja offers to show the Wind Ninja Academy's latest recruits around Blue Bay Harbor. Unfortunately, things aren't quite as he remembers them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Only Constant is Change

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara/gifts).



> For Mara :) 
> 
> Prompt: 
> 
> Where do all the students of the school live? Are they all from town? Even if they don't live in town, they must go occasionally. What do they do in town? Where do ninjas hang out? Does the library have a really weird collection of book requests? Does the bowling alley refuse to have any kind of contest where you get prizes for perfect scores?
> 
> Or, more specifically for the season, how did the town deal with so many people disappearing for a year? What did the police do? What did parents, siblings, spouses, children do?

            The note had been specific. At midnight, sharp, Kyle had been requested to meet someone (they hadn't signed the note, so he wasn't sure who) by the waterfall entrance to the Wind Ninja Academy. If this person was trying to pull one over on him, they had another thing coming, because Kyle never went anywhere that suspicious without back-up; namely Eric and Talley.

            They showed up on time, but no one was there.

            "You three!" A voice called out from seemingly nowhere, causing the trio to go into defense mode. Back to back they slowly rotated their circle looking for the voice and it's owner.

            "Up here," The voice came again. All three chins tilted upwards until they saw him, floating weightlessly three feet above their heads. They moved out of their circle, giving the stranger room to land on the ground. He was still wearing his face mask. "Sorry to scare you guys," The stranger said, shifting his eyes between them. "It's kind of a tradition, though."

            "What tradition is that?" Talley asked, folding her arms. She was unamused to say the least. "Scaring new recruits? Isn't that called hazing?"

            "We don't use the h-word," The stranger explained. He peeled off his mask. "My name's Brandon. I'm the top student in the air specialty. Or I was before... you know. Kyle, Talley and Aaron, right?"

            "Eric," Kyle corrected, clapping a hand on Eric's shoulder. "McLame-Lingo to his friends."

            "Right," Brandon said with a laugh. "Well, you're newbies, and I'm an old pro, so I thought I could show you the ropes around here."

            "Really?" The skepticism dripped off Talley's question.

            "Don't be rude, Talley," Eric said, slugging her shoulder, before turning back to Brandon. "If you've got ropes, we'd love to see them, dude."

* * *

            "You guys live around here?" Brandon asked, as he led Kyle, Talley and Eric through downtown Blue Bay the next afternoon.

            "Yeah," Talley said, at the exact time that Kyle said, "No."

            "Reefside," Kyle went on. "I'm living with Eric and his dad until I can get an apartment or get approved to live in a dorm at the academy."

            "Technically, I live with my mom in Reefside," Eric corrected. "But my dad's got a place out here and I'm just going to move in with him to make things easier."

            "Well, Kyle, if you need help getting approved for dorm housing, I'm kinda friends with Sensei Watanabe's son," Brandon said. "I can probably get him to push something through for you about a dorm. In the meantime, pizza." He stopped in front of what appeared to be an empty store front.

            "What is this? Like some way stealthy ninja dude's pizza place?" Eric asked, looking into the window. "Because it looks totally empty."

            "That's weird." Brandon said. He pulled at the door, but it was locked. There was a small sign on the inside of the door. "Slice O' Life regrets to close its doors one final time, due to lack of business?" He read aloud, the shock coming through in his voice. "I don't believe it!"

            "It's been a rough year around here," Talley said, gesturing to some of the other empty storefronts across the street. "We always figured that all our business came from the university in the next town over. I guess we thought that it was the monster attacks that turned off the college students. Turns out you guys were ninjas, but still."

            "Bummer about the pizza," Kyle said, patting Brandon's shoulder blade. "But there's gotta be something else around here, right?"

* * *

            "Okay, mum's the word on the ninja stuff," Brandon said, opening the door to the bowling alley. "Townies don't know about any of it. If we're lucky, since everyone's been gone for a year, they've probably reinstated the perfect game prize."

            "They actually did," Talley confirmed as they walked into the lobby. People she vaguely recognized from orientation at the academy filled the place. It looked like a fire code violation waiting to happen.

            "Something tells me, it's going to be gone again soon."

            "Not helping, Eric," Kyle whispered.

            Strikes were bowled in three consecutive lanes. Brandon led the group back outside in something of a huff.

* * *

            "Okay, this time for sure."

            "If you want," Talley offered, trying not to sound as smug as she felt. "I can do the whole tour-of-the-city thing. I mean it's changed a lot since you were—"

            "This time for sure," Brandon repeated, leading the other three to a smaller storefront than before, but this time, it was actually occupied. There were people inside and everything. "Told you," He said, sighing in relief himself.

            The bells jingled above the door as they entered what Brandon had thought was The Winner's Circle— his favorite arcade. As Talley could have told him, it was now The Blue Bay Barista Company— a specialty tea and coffee place.

            "Oh, come on!" Brandon exclaimed, turning to go again.

            "Wait," Kyle said, stopping him. "If we walk out of every place that's different, and every place that's the same as you remember it from before, there will actually be no places left in town."

            "Dude, how did you do that math in your head?" Eric asked, eliciting a harsher eye roll than usual from Talley, but luckily he didn't seem to notice.

            Brandon turned back around. He looked around the place and it wasn't at all like it had been when it was an arcade. Mostly, he felt bad, like it was his fault the arcade had gone out of business, and that by staying in the new coffee house, he was betraying his old favorite hangout. But, then again, Kyle had a point. Besides, he did like coffee.

            "You're right. Let's get something to drink," He smiled. "I'm buying."

            "Booyah! I'm _so_ going for double espresso."

            "Eric, I swear to god, you better go decaf, or I'll—"

            "Decaf is for quitters, Tal."

* * *

             "And finally," Talley went on. She was a little too satisfied with her tour-guiding abilities. "You'll notice that Storm Chargers has managed to not only stay open, but they're doing better than ever."

            "Why do you think that is?" Brandon asked, surveying the store, which admittedly did seem to be going well. If he remembered correctly, a first year academy student worked at Storm Chargers. He just couldn't remember which one.

            "Duh, adrenaline!" Eric punctuated with a jump. Talley began thinking of ways to make him regret the caffeine, and Brandon for buying it for him.

            "Adrenaline?"

            "Sure," Kyle began to explain. "That's what brought people to Blue Bay this past year, after all. The impending fear of getting attacked by a monster. Fact: monster chasers love action sports."

            "And that's what you missed in Blue Bay!" Talley smiled. "Now it's your turn. I think there were some ropes back at the academy we still needed to learn."


End file.
